Russian city bans homosexual propaganda

Moscow, Feb 29 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The legislative assembly of Russia’s St. Petersburg city Wednesday passed a law penalising the dissemination of material promoting homosexuality and paedophilia among minors.

The law imposes fines of up to $16,000 on individuals and up to $160,000 on legal entities for the promotion of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender practices among minors.

Twenty-nine of 50 legislators voted for the law with five against and one abstention.

The new legislation outlaws any Gay Pride events. It follows similar bans in the southern Astrakhan and central Ryazan and Kostroma regions in Russia.

St. Petersburg’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) group Coming Out said the bill was “homophobic” and aimed at diverting public attention from Russia’s “real political and social problems”.

Homosexuality was illegal in the erstwhile Soviet Union and was only decriminalised by former President Boris Yeltsin in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment is still widespread.